Hobbit and Lord of the Rings oneshots, Book 1

Sugar is Sweet (Dwalin)

Ok, this is my first Dwalin fic, so Dwalin will probably be OOC, so sincerest apologies in advance!! EleanorLearn , my dear, this is for you 💙💙

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I own a small bakery in the rebuilt city of Dale. It has been about 4 months since the reclamation of Erebor, and life could not be better.

As I am standing on my tiptoes to stock up a high shelf with fresh chocolate cookies, I hear the front door open. Well, I hear the tiny brass bell it hits to let me know the door has been opened. I turn around to see a burly warrior walk confidently into my cozy shop. Dwalin! I'd recognize him anywhere; everyone knows who he is. I also notice his elder brother coming out from behind him. Balin, the King's advisor.

I smile at them and pull away from the shelf, my replenishing now finished. "Good day, my lords! How may I help you?" I greet cheerfully, and Balin smiles back at me. Dwalin doesn't even blink. Not surprisingly. He doesn't seem to show any emotion other than anger.

"Ah, no need for such formalities, Miss (y/n)!" Balin replies, matching my fervor.

"Please, call me (y/n)," I counter cheekily. "No need for formalities." Balin laughs heartily at this, and I could've sworn I saw Dwalin smirk.

"Well, (y/n), we were hoping you would be able to provide us with about 2 dozen or so of those chocolate cookies that you made for the celebration last week," Balin continues. "My brother here simply adored them, and we'd like some more, if it's not too much trouble, lass."

Dwalin seemed to turn a bit pink at the mention of him, but stayed emotionless as a rock just the same.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" I exclaimed, and started shoveling the fresh chocolate cookies I had just shelved into a rough bag that would keep moisture out. "In fact, I had just finished this batch not 10 minutes ago." I hand Balin the bag, and as he is about to give me the due money, I shake my head adamantly.

"No no, Balin. These are on the house, since you two seem to love them so very much!" I said teasingly as I looked to Dwalin. He was definitely pink now.

Balin tried to argue and pay me, but I refused. They eventually complied and left, even happier than when they'd arrived, and I couldn't have been more intrigued.

It seemed there was more to this Dwalin than met the eye.

Three days later...

I wipe my hands on my jelly stained apron, trying to remove the flour from them. I had just finished kneading bread dough; messy business. (A/n I should know, we used to make our own bread 😂)

I had accidentally set the flour bag down too hard when I'd finished with it, causing flour to erupt and go everywhere. I'd managed to get most of it off of my face and hands and out of my hair, but I know some was still there. But it doesn't matter, business is slow right now, I won't see anyone I know.

Just as I think this, the bell rings, and my head turns to see who came through the door. My jaw drops. It's the last person I'd want to see me in a state such as this!

Dwalin.

But, I plaster a smile on my face and perk up my attitude anyway. "Hello, Master Dwalin!"

He nods and grunts a greeting.

"What can I do for you?" I ask as I straighten a freshly baked pie that was sitting on the counter to cool.

"Remember those blueberry pies you had at the celebration a fortnight past?"

Wow. He's actually articulate. "Yes," I respond, thankful that I had just taken 3 blueberry pies out of my huge oven.

"Can I get 4 of those?" He almost sounded...timid?

"Sure," I nodded, "but the fourth is still baking. It'll be about 5 more minutes. Is that okay?"

He nods and doesn't move from his spot.

...What do I do?...

"How is Balin?" I ask, a sad attempt at conversation, really.

He nods again. "He's well."

"Good."

More silence.

"Two of you must have a sweet tooth, eh?"

He narrows his eyes at me, but not in discrimination or in a criticizing way. More like he's analyzing me, trying to figure out a response. "How do you mean?"

I fiddle with the ends of my apron strings nervously; this was not going the way I'd planned.

"Well, I mean you came last week for cookies, and now you need 4 pies. I presume you and Balin favor the sweet foods?"

He nods. "Aye. Assumed you do too, since you have a bakery and all."

I giggle, and he almost seems startled by my laughter, as if he hadn't meant to make me laugh. "Yes, I'm afraid I do," I admit. "Father told me it'll be the death of me someday. Either from all the sweets or by somehow falling into the oven!" I laugh at this, knowing how clumsy I can tend to be.

Dwalin chuckles too, the sound sending my heart into a quick-beating frenzy.

In no time at all, Dwalin is on his way home with 4 boxes of blueberry pies in his strong arms, leaving me wondering how I will deal with this new feeling I have discovered.